As such, some YA mystery books may in fact be pretty horrific -- bad things happen to the heroes, themes of violence and sex are explored, and other "adult" topics are explored under the vice of YA fiction to push the boundaries. A Novel Emily Murdoch. If you hadn't figured it out yet, he's a skeleton Its a tense, thrilling and humorous journey, wry and witty in typical John Green fashion, and accurately and emotionally describes issues of teenage life, coming of age and learning truths about life beyond teenage-hood through his sharp-witted prose. Listiverse Recommendations Click to View.